Did you know that the Huy Fong company that makes the beloved “rooster sauce” sells 20 million bottles of its sriracha sauce a year without spending a single dime on advertising? I find the story about David Tran’s success so amazing and can’t even think of another company that can thrive like this without a PR or marketing strategy. While …

I very rarely veer off my “tried and true” basic recipe for Vietnamese Nuoc Cham (dipping sauce with lime juice, fish sauce, chili peppers, sugar, water) for Vietnamese Spring Rolls. It’s easy, predictable and I can make the sauce just by taste without measuring anything! But just because I *LOVE* something doesn’t mean that my entire family loves it too. My fish-fearing …

Before my Mom came to visit, she sent a care package full of foodie goodies, and instructed me to save them for when she comes to visit. I knew exactly what that meant – Mama’s gonna cook for me! In the package were Chinese Preserved Pork Belly and Chinese Sausage. Sure enough, Mom announced she was making “Chinese Clay Pot Rice” for dinner …

My husband has only a couple of hobbies, but my oh my, he did choose them well. What I mean to say, is that HIS hobbies benefits ME directly. It’s a selfish way to look at things, but he could have chosen silly things like NASCAR, model rocket building or golfing — none of which have any side perks that …

The love language between my Mom and me is all about food! We share recipes with each other over the phone and email. We swap cookbooks when we see each other a couple times a year. She packs up Chinese cookbooks for me (all of them written in both Chinese and English) and I save the gazillion cookbooks that publishers send to …

It’s been a loooong time since I’ve made home made pho – much too long! Normally I make beef pho the long and slow way – either in the slow cooker or barely bubbling on the stovetop: Slow Cooker Vietnamese Pho Recipe Vietnamese Beef Pho Recipe Chicken Pho Recipe (Pho Ga) But a very persistent reader has been emailing me …

Sometimes a cheater sauce is just the answer. The Asian aisle at my local grocery store has soo many bottles and jars of Asian sauces – sweet-sour, kung-pao, ginger-garlic. Most of the time, I tell you to skip the pre-made stuff – it’s just easier to combine fresh ginger, fresh garlic, soy sauce or other easy-to-find ingredients to make your …

I’m not very creative when it comes to cooking eggplant, usually I poke a few holes with a fork and roast until soft. The poking is important – it prevents the eggplant from exploding in the oven. Go ahead, ask me how I know! We grow both Chinese and Japanese eggplant in the garden, both of which are less-bitter than …

Like my label!? LOL Back before Sriracha was a “thing” – we just called it “red sauce” and squirted it on just about everything, including scrambled eggs. The original “rooster brand” Huy Fong recipe was so perfect that they had a virtual monopoly at Vietnamese restaurants and competitors didn’t even try to imitate their formula. Fun fact from Forbes: Huy Fong …

Fried rice without rice?! WHAT?! That was exactly my reaction when I first saw this recipe in Nom Nom Paleo Food for Humans by my friends Michelle Tam and Henry Fong. Being the super rice geek that I am: How to cook white rice in microwave How to cook brown rice in microwave Trader Joe’s Quick Cooking Brown rice review …